National Directory for Radiation Protection
Amendment No. 7, 2017
Disposal of Radioactive Material
Approved by Radiation Health Committee, 19 November 2014
3.2 Exemptions
Delete existing footnote 12
12 All dealings with all radioactive material below the activity concentration or activity levels in Schedule 4 of the Directory are exempt from regulation without approach to the Authority. In relation to the transport of radioactive material, the activity concentration levels for exempt material, the activity limits for exempt consignments, and the modifying factor in clause 107(e) in the Code of Practice for the Safe Transport of Radioactive Material apply.
Insert new footnote 12
12 All dealings with all radioactive material below the activity concentration or activity levels in Schedule 4 of the Directory, other than for the control of discharges to the sewer or atmosphere which are dealt with in Schedule 14, are exempt from regulation without approach to the Authority. In relation to the transport of radioactive material, the activity concentration levels for exempt material, the activity limits for exempt consignments, and the modifying factor in clause 107(e) in the Code of Practice for the Safe Transport of Radioactive Material apply.
Delete existing clause 3.2.7
3.2.7 A radioactive source listed in Schedule 5 must be exempted from the notification, registration or licensing requirements specified, subject to disposal of radioactive waste meeting the requirements of Section 4.2.2 (in preparation) and Schedule 14 (in preparation).
Insert new clause 3.2.7
3.2.8 A radioactive source listed in Schedule 5 must be exempted from the notification, registration or licensing requirements specified, subject to disposal of that source meeting the requirements of Section 4.2.2.
4.2 Requirements for authorising practices
Delete existing clause
Requirements applied to authorisations for practices by the Authority must include the set of requirements specified in Schedule 7 for the relevant categories.
Insert new clause 4.2.1
4.2.1 Requirements applied to authorisations for practices by the Authority must include the set of requirements specified in Schedule 7 for the relevant categories.
The following subsection is added to Section 4.2 in order to provide for disposal of radioactive material by the user.
Insert new clause 4.2.2
4.2.2 No authorisation is required to dispose of radioactive material if the disposal is in accordance with Schedule 14.
Schedule 5 – Exempt radiation generating apparatus, electron tubes and radioactive sources
Delete existing footnote 20
20 It should be noted that the provisions requiring authorisation prior to disposal of radioactive materials still apply, unless the disposal is in accordance with Schedule 14 (in preparation).
Insert new footnote 20
20 It should be noted that the provisions requiring authorisation prior to disposal of radioactive materials still apply, unless the disposal is in accordance with Schedule 14.
Schedule 7 – Requirements for Licensing Specific Practices
Delete reference statement
(Refer section 4.2)
Insert reference statement
(Refer section 4.2.1)
Schedule 14 – Requirements for the disposal of radioactive material by the user
(Refer section 4.2.2)
A new Schedule 14 is inserted as follows:
For the purpose of Section 4.2.2, the radioactive material must meet the following criteria:
S14.1 Disposal of Radioactive Material via Landfill
No authorisation is required from the Authority to dispose of radioactive material for final placement into landfill if the material:
1. is in solid form;
2. is contained within packaging designed so that:
(a) the smallest overall external dimension of each package is not less than 10cm;
(b) the package can be easily handled;
(c) there are at least two complete layers of packaging between the radioactive material and the exterior of the package, one layer of which is waterproof;
(d) the outer layer of each package:
(i) as far as practicable, prevents the collection and retention of water; and
(ii) can be easily decontaminated;
(e) as far as practicable, the packaging will retain its contents during transport to the landfill site;
(f) no individual package contains more than the relevant Landfill Package Activity Value in Column 2 of Table S14.1 of this Schedule;
(g) the dose-rate at the surface of any individual package does not exceed 5µSv/h;
(h) the maximum non-fixed external contamination on any individual package does not exceed:
(i) 4Bq/cm2 for beta and gamma emitters; or
(ii) 0.4Bq/cm2 for alpha-emitters having a half-life greater than 10 days;
3. is limited to no more than 10 packages containing radioactive material from the person initiating the disposal in any 7 day period at the one landfill site;
4. is not placed in the recycling waste stream; and
5. is recorded in a register that is kept by the person initiating the disposal.
S14.2 Disposal of radioactive material via sewer
No authorisation from the Authority is required to dispose of radioactive material into the sewerage system if the material:
1. consists of aqueous materials,
2. is released so that:
(i) the annual activity of a radioactive material from the site to a sewer does not exceed the value in column 3 of Table S14.1 of this Schedule; and
(ii) the concentration at the input to a waste water treatment plant, calculated as the activity in (i) divided by the annual flowFootnote X through the waste water treatment plant to which the sewer connects, does not exceed that in column 4 of Table S14.1 of this Schedule; and
3. is recorded in a register that is kept by the person initiating the disposal.
S14.3 Disposal of Radioactive Material to the Atmosphere
No authorisation is required from the Authority to dispose of radioactive material into the atmosphere if the material is:
1. limited so that the annual activity released at the point of discharge does not exceed the Air Discharge Values in Column 5 of Table S14.1 of this Schedule; and
2. recorded in a register that is kept by the person initiating the disposal.
Table S14.1 Landfill Package Activity, Sewerage Discharge and Air Discharge Values for Periodic Disposal of Very Low-Level Radioactive Material
Column 1 / Column 2Landfill Disposal Values / Column 3
Sewerage Discharge Values / Column 4
Sewerage Discharge Values / Column 5
Air Discharge Values /
Radionuclide / Landfill Package Activity Values(1),(2)
(Bq) / Annual activity to sewer from a site(3),(4)
(Bq) / Resultant concentration(3) at input to a waste water treatment plant
(Bq/m3) / Annual activity released to atmosphere from the point of discharge(3)
(Bq) /
3H / 1010 / 2.0 × 1011 / 9.1 × 106 / 1.0 × 1012
14C / 108 / 1.8 × 108 / 1.0 × 103 / 1.0 × 1011
18F / 107 / 2.3 × 109 / 1.0 × 105 / 2.5 × 1013
22Na / 107 / 1.0 × 106 / 1.1 × 100 / 1.0 × 107
24Na / 106 / 1.0 × 108 / 1.1 × 103 / 1.0 × 1010
32P / 106 / 1.0 × 107 / 7.1 × 100 / 1.0 × 109
33P / 109 / 3.0 × 108 / 6.3 × 101 / 3.0 × 1010
35S(inorganic) / 109 / 3.3 × 108 / 1.1 × 104 / 1.0 × 109
36Cl / 107 / 7.1 × 106 / 3.3 × 102 / 1.0 × 108
45Ca / 108 / 3.0 × 109 / 1.1 × 105 / 1.0 × 109
51Cr / 108 / 1.0 × 109 / 1.1 × 103 / 1.0 × 1010
59Fe / 107 / 1.0 × 107 / 1.1 × 101 / 1.0 × 109
57Co / 107 / 6.3 × 108 / 1.6 × 102 / 1.0 × 1010
60Co / 106 / 5.6 × 106 / 7.9 × 100 / 8.3 × 109
63Ni / 109 / 6.3 × 1010 / 6.6 × 103 / 8.3 × 1012
65Zn / 107 / 7.0 × 106 / 3.2 × 102 / 3.0 × 1010
67Ga / 107 / 1.0 × 109 / 1.1 × 103 / 1.0 × 1011
85Kr / 105 / - / - / 7.7 × 1015
89Sr / 107 / 2.0 × 109 / 1.7 × 103 / 1.0 × 109
90Sr / 105 / 1.0 × 107 / 4.6 × 102 / 3.0 × 1010
90Y / 106 / 4.2 × 1010 / 1.1 × 105 / 1.0 × 1011
99Mo / 107 / 1.0 × 109 / 1.1 × 103 / 1.0 × 1010
99Tc / 108 / 2.0 × 106 / 8.9 × 101 / 1.0 × 108
99mTc / 108 / 7.0 × 108 / 1.1 × 104 / 1.0 × 1012
111In / 107 / 1.0 × 109 / 1.1 × 103 / 1.0 × 1010
123I / 108 / 8.3 × 109 / 1.1 × 104 / 1.0 × 1011
125I / 107 / 1.0 × 109 / 1.1 × 103 / 1.0 × 109
129I / 106 / 1.8 × 107 / 8.3 × 102 / 1.3 × 109
131I / 107 / 1.0 × 108 / 1.1 × 102 / 1.0 × 109
137Cs / 105 / 1.7 × 107 / 5.1 × 101 / 1.4 × 1010
147Pm / 108 / 1.0 × 1011 / 1.1 × 105 / 1.0 × 1011
153Sm / 107 / 3.2 × 1010 / 1.5 × 106 / 6.3 × 1012
201Tl / 107 / 1.0 × 109 / 1.1 × 103 / 1.0 × 1011
223Ra / 106 / 1.3 × 108 / 5.7 × 103 / 5.9 × 108
241Am / 105 / 1.3 × 108 / 5.8 × 103 / 1.0 × 108
Notes
(1) When there is a mixture of radionuclides in the material to be disposed of to landfill:
Where Ci is the activity of each isotope i to be disposed of, and
Xi is the activity value given in Table S14.1 for each isotope i.
(2) For disposal of radioactive material to landfill where the radionuclides are not listed in this table, a package activity value of 10 times the exemption limit for that radionuclide, or mixture of radionuclides calculated in accordance with Note (1) above, applies.
(3) When there is a mixture of radionuclides in the material to be disposed of to a sewer or to air:
Where Ci is the activity or activity concentration of each isotope i to be disposed of, and
Xi is the activity or activity concentration discharge value, as appropriate, as given in Table S14.1 for each isotope i.
(4) A ‘site’ may be, for example, a university or a hospital from which there could be several individual points of disposal to the one sewer. The activities in this column are the total activity discharged from that site to the one sewer.
______
Footnote X The annual flow is calculated as the average dry weather flow applied over a full year.
A new Annex 4 is inserted as follows:
Annex 4 – Disposal of radioactive material by the user
Introduction
Radioactive material is used extensively in medical, research and industrial applications. While the use of radioactive material has significant medical, research and industrial benefits, there is often a need to dispose of waste material generated during the particular process. As ionising radiation can be detrimental to human health and the broader environment, it is important to dispose of unwanted radioactive material with minimum effect on the health and safety of people and the environment.
Previously, requirements on the disposal of unwanted radioactive material by the user was contained in the NHMRC in its Radiation Health Series publication number 13, the Code of Practice for the Disposal of Radioactive Wastes by the User (1985) (RHS13) (NHMRC 1985). RHS13 provided a means of determining activities of radioactive material that could be approved for disposal to sewer or to landfill. Disposal of higher activities of radioactive material required additional consultation with and approval of the regulatory authority. The activity values calculated using RHS13 were based on ‘reasonable’ assumptions but not on any specific exposure scenarios.
Review of disposal requirements
Following a review of RHS13, the Radiation Health Committee (RHC) concluded that an agreed set of activities and activity concentrations for each commonly used isotope be prepared to promote a uniform approach to disposal of radioactive material in Australia. The RHC specified that the revised requirements should include disposal to landfill, sewer and atmosphere.
Further, RHC agreed that the values be such that no approval of the relevant regulatory authority would be required if the person were to dispose of the material with an activity or activity concentration below the value specified for the particular isotope. Where, however, this were not the case, regulatory approval would be required.
The revised approach
The NDRP entry and Schedule to replace RHS13 was developed to:
• be as simple as possible but as complex as necessary,
• have regard to current national and international guidance on disposal and discharge of radioactive material including the requirements for disposal and discharges of radioactive material in the IAEA Basic Safety Standards (IAEA 2012),
• have regard to currently available methodologies and international experience in dealing with disposal and discharge of radioactive material by users in hospitals, universities, etc.,
• take account of likely exposure of people and of the environment,
• be based on conservative but realistic, documented scenarios and modelling considered applicable to Australian conditions,
• consider the direction of the Fundamentals for Protection Against Ionising Radiation and Code of Practice for Planned Exposure Situations (ARPANSA 2014), and
• consider current practice in all Australian jurisdictions.
In applying these criteria, values expressed as an annual activity to account for exposure of people and an activity concentration for exposure of the environment were considered to be the simplest parameters.